


For the love of a dog

by kireiflora



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: AU where vicchan lives, Angst, Fix-It, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, M/M, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-08 05:41:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8832634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kireiflora/pseuds/kireiflora
Summary: Yuuri calls his mom before the GPF, looking for some courage, instead he gets the news his beloved dog, Vicchan, is sick.He's barely convinced to wait the two days to see the competition through before getting on the plane home, but if he's going to stay that long, he's going to make it count.orAU where Vicchan never dies, but this changes everything.





	1. Phone calls and short programs

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to write a fic where Vicchan didn't die, for hilarious and cute moments, instead it became something quite different. 
> 
> And with episode 10, well, it changes things a lot more than I thought.
> 
> This was written during nanowrimo.

Yuuri dug out his phone with shaking hands as he leaned against the wall, he needed someone to say something to calm him down because he was about to skate on the same ice as Victor Nikiforov and he was so nervous he could barely remember his routines, and that was without thinking about how many people back home were counting on him. He'd be lucky if his muscle memory was good enough to guide him through it at this rate.

“Mom?” he asked, when the phone finally stopped ringing.

“Yuuri…” she trailed off.

His heart sped up and his hands shook even more, “Mom, what’s wrong?!” normally his mother would be happily chatting away instantly, not...sounding like this.

“V-Vicchan...he's really sick.” she said softly, clearly not wanting to tell her son this news.

Yuuri nearly dropped his phone, his world went dark around the edges. Vicchan...his mind called an image of his beloved dog to his mind.

“Yuuri! Yuuri don’t panic!” she said when she heard his labored breathing. “They think he’ll pull through, I didn’t mean to worry you like this!”

Yuuri gasped a deep breath in, “Really? Good odds?” he asked, free arm wrapped around himself, trying to focus on nothing but her voice.

“Yes, 70% in his favor.” she didn’t want to lie, but she also knew that that number wasn’t high enough to quell his fears.

“Mom…” he trailed off, “How fast can I get back to Japan?” he asked, nearly pulling his phone away to start looking.

“Wha-Yuuri no! You can’t! If-”

“If Vicchan dies and I’m not there I’ll never forgive myself.” he said softly.

There was a long silence. “Yuuri, please, don’t throw this away. Two days, two days and you can get on the first flight after your free skate, but not before that.” she was pleading with him.

He was torn, thoughts flying a million miles an hour. He’d spent the majority of his life working up to this, his beloved pet was sick yes, but could he really do anything to help? Could he run away from his one chance to be noticed by Victor? Did he dare not? Did he dare skate and get the news Vicchan died? What if he left and he died before he even landed? “Mom…” he choked out, “I-I don’t…” he felt dizzy as his thoughts swirled. What difference could his presence make? Could he ever forgive himself if he wasn't there? ...70%, that was a bit higher than 2 in 3 chances of survival... “You have to promise to tell me if he gets worse before tomorrow.” he finally managed, words feeling dirty in his mouth. Was he really giving in? Not going home?

He heard a sniffle, “Of course honey. Just do your best okay? You worked so hard for this, try to put Vicchan out of your mind, skate, and show the world, show Victor,” it was low to use the Victor card, “Just how good you are.” she might not know much about skating itself, but she knew her son was good, he was the best in the country for a reason and he deserved to be in the grand prix as much as Victor. “You can do it.”

He nodded slightly, “I’ll do my best.” he hung up, unable to hold himself together any longer. He quickly made his way to a bathroom, sitting on a toilet and crying as quietly as he could. He knew Celestino would be looking for him, he needed to pull himself together. It wasn't long before he had to go and skate.

He heard the tail end of something in another language, and looked up from his hands to see a pair of feet outside the door. He knew whoever it wasn’t didn’t need his stall, probably just heard him crying. “What?” he asked in japanese.

There was a pause, “Ah, english?” the voice asked.

“Yeah.” he was decent with it after living in Detroit.

“What’s wrong?”

“My dog’s sick.” he said, quietly. “Less than great chances.”

He heard a sharp gasp, “Ah...are you competing?”

“Yeah.” he was keeping his answers short more to focus on not crying again than anything else.

“Mmm. Are you staying?” they asked.

“Until after the free skate.” he said, “Unless…” he trailed off, not wanting to voice the ‘unless’.

“I can only imagine…let me cover the ticket for you.” the voice said, “I have a dog too.”

“Wha-no!” he nearly burst out the stall, but he didn’t want anyone to see him like this.

“Please, I’d rather your money go towards your dog if needed.”

“I’ll think about it.” he muttered.

“Tweet about your dog, I’ll be able to find you that way.” they continued, “You’re one of 6 people here, won’t be hard to narrow you down.”

He wondered why they didn’t just ask who he was, maybe they were a judge and didn’t want to give him slack on points?

“Okay.” they would never know if he didn’t after all. Well they would but they wouldn't know who he was. They might decide he was Victor Nikiforov all along, who probably didn't need the money.

“Make sure to pat your face with water, it’s almost time for the short program.” he heard and partly saw them walk away.

A glance at his phone told him that yes, he really only had about half an hour before he had to be there for warm-ups and then the skate itself...

He waited another ten minutes, composing himself and giving himself a pep talk. He couldn’t door poorly if he was going to be here instead of home, he was going to ignore everyone around him, and do his best skating yet. If he was going to stay here, Victor was going to notice him. If he wasn't going to be there for Vicchan, he wasn't going to let it go to waste.

He stood up, more determined than before the call, wetting a paper towel in the sink and dabbing at the tear streaks on his face, there was nothing that could be done for the light makeup he had, but at least it didn’t look bad. He took a deep breath before heading out of the bathroom slowly, he should find Celestino.

“Yuuri!” he heard the relieved voice of his coach, “There you are!”

“Ah, Celestino. Sorry for vanishing.”

He paused, looking him over, “You look worse and better at the same time.” he laughed slightly.

“I got some bad news, but if I tell you now I won’t be able to skate. But I’m leaving immediately after the skate tomorrow.” he deserved some forewarning.

Celestino blinked, clearly thinking he’d misheard before he nodded slightly. “You’ll have to tell me later, but for now, let’s get back to the rink.”

He had to admit, warming up on the same ice as Victor himself sent a happy thrill through him, but he shook it off, he had to focus. He couldn’t let anything, not even Victor, distract him. He had to hold onto this burst of determination, he couldn't let anything take him out of the zone.

He was the end of group one, and he barely heard Celestino’s words of encouragement over his heartbeat in his ears as he stepped out onto the ice. He took a deep breath, filled his mind with Vicchan, and skated out into his starting position, and got lost in the skating.

He finished group one in second, and the short program in third by tenths of a point.

It wouldn't really matter tomorrow, most of the skaters here had high difficulty free skates that they got most of their points from. He wouldn't be surprised if several of them purposefully wanted to go first tomorrow and just hold onto that all the way to the end of the free skate.

He was just relieved _he’d_ landed all his jumps, even if he under or over-rotated a few. He barely managed the energy and happiness he usually got from watching Victor skate near the end. He was in no mood to say for any celebrations or interviews, and Celestino kept glancing at him before he decided it was long past time to leave and quickly guided them out and towards the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The english is awkward because neither side is sure how well the other knows english.
> 
> I might be stretching how good Yuuri might've been. In canon we see him doing wonderfully because he's skating for Victor, and here he's skating for Vicchan, so I don't think its impossible.


	2. The Free Skate day, aka, Yuuri's life sucks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Telling Celestino what was going on was the easy part, the next day was probably one of the worst of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRACER IS GAY AND I CAN'T FOCUS so sorry if this chapter is a lil scatterbrained. 
> 
> DESPITE HOW IT SEEMS I DO LOVE YUURI
> 
> Also sorry I don't have the best grasp on Celestino, we've seen so little of him.

Once in the safety of Yuuri’s hotel room, Celestino turned to him and finally asked, “Can you tell me what’s wrong now?”

“Vicchan is sick.” he said softly, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I need to be packed before the competition tomorrow, and I need clothes I can change into in a bathroom for the plane.” thoughts were flying through his brain both quickly and slowly, there was no room left for emotion.

Celestino put an understanding hand on his shoulder. “I’ll make sure your luggage is well taken care of, you did very well out there after such news. I’m proud of you for staying, I know that must’ve been hard for you. It’s not worth critiquing your performance right now, I’ll keep it for later.” he smiled slightly mischievously at him. “Victor looked proud too.” 

“Wha-no he didn’t!” he shook his head, unable to help the flush that took over his face.

“Maybe not proud, but impressed at least.” he admitted, “You can do it you know, you can get up on that podium with him.” he added, “Eat something and make sure to rest and not stay up too late packing. Do you have any clean casual clothes or do I need to buy you some?”

“Celestino-I’m fine, I couldn’t ask you to buy clothes for a plane ride.” he shook his head. 

He sighed, “Very well, make sure to give me your room key in the morning and I’ll make sure everything is ready, bring your change of clothes with you.” 

He nodded, “I’d like to be alone please.”

“I meant what I said, I’m proud of you.” he said again before exiting the room and closing the door quietly behind him.

Yuuri finally got the email from his mom with his plane ticket, he winced slightly at the time, it would really be pulling it close. At the same time he was happy she was doing her best to get him home as soon as he could. His luggage could end up on another plane, he had stuff at home, but  _ he _ had to be on that plane. He also promised to repay her money, not even wanting to think about how much it must’ve cost last minute.

He ordered room service, and started going through every nook and cranny of the room. He didn’t usually fling stuff about the room, but he’d hate to be worrying about leaving something behind on top of everything else. Everything was looked under and around and behind, he made piles of what he’d need in the morning, made a note of things to not forget on his way out, and was relaxed by the time his food got here.

He ate on...whatever he’d ordered, scrolling his phone, bugging his family about updates, checking the times and calculating the absolute  _ latest  _ he could leave the competition and make his flight.

He winced, if there were any delays, he would have to leave the second he got off the ice, it’d be too close for him to be comfortable with waiting around for. There was no way he was missing that plane.

His mom, dad, and sister all assured him separately Vicchan was no worse than he was that morning, they all also avoided mentioning his actual skating for the moment. 

His bags were as packed as they could be, they laid open and waiting for the final items from throughout the morning. He’d emptied his bag he took with him to the rink as much as he dared, squeezing in a change of clothes and whatever entertainment he had.

It hit him suddenly, that he’d have to leave his skates with Celestino. He was sure the other man was planning on having someone check his luggage in for him, but he’d need his skates after that and they wouldn’t let him just take them onto the plane, they were blades after all. Celestino would have to send them on. 

Oh well, that freed up a bit more room in his bag. 

It took him awhile to fall asleep, worried about Vicchan as he was.

\-----

He woke up slowly, staring around at the tidy room in silence for awhile. He was here, where he’d been trying to get so long, and all he wanted to do now that he was here was to get away.

He forced those thoughts to the back of his mind, he couldn’t think about that, he had to skate his best and try to be noticed by Victor, had to try and place, and he couldn’t let anything distract him, just a few more hours and he could just let it all out. In the meantime he had to just shove all of his feelings to the back of his mind.

He got ready, putting stuff in his suitcase along the way, doing another quick search of his room. Normally he wore clothes to the rink and changed once there, but this time he’d just put on his outfit and his jacket on over it. 

Just a few more hours.

Celestino came to collect him not long after that, smiling very slightly at him as he took his room key. “You can do this. You have a solid program, and you’ll make it home. Don’t worry, just skate.”

\-----

He was never so  _ upset  _ that he’d placed third, that meant he was in group two, and the pause between groups was going on  _ forever _ but, at least he was first. He had to focus on the positives and not the ticking time bomb. Victor was in the same group as him, of course, and he kept looking at him, probably wondering why he was looking quite so frustrated at this break. He resisted the part of him that wanted to go over and talk to him, if he had to talk to Vicchan’s namesake, he wasn’t sure he could hold himself together. No, he had to ignore his idol. 

It hurt though.

He filed away the fact that Victor actually  _ noticed _ him to be happy about later.

He was counting the seconds in the minutes, it was going to be a close thing if they didn’t get him out on that ice  _ right now. _ He was about ready to just go out there, exit the room, and just go and get into position and just skate without music. 

He knew he was being irrational, but he was not going to  _ not  _ be on that plane. If they didn’t call him out in the next  _ minute _ he was going to just  _ leave _ . 

To his mild irritation they did call him before his minute was up, and he took a deep breath. Pushing all his frustration to the back of his mind. He could do this. He was going to nail this. For Vicchan. 

Celestino looked slightly irritated as well, but quickly hid it when he looked at him. “Skate your heart out, Victor will be watching.” he said as encouragement. 

He did nail it.

Well,  _ nailing _ was subjective, he didn’t fall, he didn’t screw up majorly, but he didn’t do it  _ perfect _ or anything. He barely managed to sit through waiting for scores, though he couldn’t help a happy smile when he saw he’d broken 290 points total, barely, but he’d done it.

He was in first for the moment, but that’d be over in just a minute.

 

-wait.

 

He was in  _ first _ .

There were  _ two  _ competitors remaining.

No matter what happened...he placed.

He  _ placed _ in the same competition as Victor.

_ And he couldn’t stay and stand on the podium with him?! _

He wasn’t sure if he should be cheering or crying, he just sat there, numb, slack-jawed. 

Celestino was cheering enough for both of them, at his side. “You did it Yuuri!” he pulled him into a brief side-hug. “You did it!” 

“I did it…” he said softly, still not believing his eyes. He turned to Celestino. “Celestino…”

“I know, I know. It’s a shame.” he was standing to lead him away from the cameras. Using his clear shock to his advantage. “Let’s get you on that plane.” he said quietly. They had to sneak him out of there before people caught on that someone on the podium was  _ leaving _ . 

“Yuuri!” 

Yuuri froze in place, head snapping to that voice. No way.

Victor grinned at him, “Good job!” he called, as Christophe took to the ice. “You’ll look good on the podium!” 

He felt like the universe was outright  _ mocking _ him right now.

He knew he should say something, anything, to acknowledge his idol, but his brain couldn’t think beyond.  _ Get to the plane.  _  And  _ Victor knew his name. Thought he’d look good on the podium. _ He had no idea what expression was on his face but he saw Victor’s surprised expression before he turned and continued to allow Celestino to guide him away.

“Ciao ciao...the universe really hates me.” he mumbled, trying not to let how torn up he was show on his face.

“Look on the bright side, he  _ knows  _ you now.” he smiled at him. “C’mon,” he dragged him into an empty room. “Change, quick.”

Yuuri was already tearing off his outfit as fast as he could without damaging it. “Celestino, you have to send my skates on.” he said as he tugged his change of clothes out, changing into them as fast as he could and leaving his skates abandoned as he pulled on his running shoes. 

“Shit, I completely forgot about that.” he muttered, “Good catch.” he added, “Put them in your bag for the moment though, we need to get out of here without people noticing.” 

He nodded, shoving them in the top of the bag and throwing his jacket over the open zipper. “Let’s go.”

They could only hope nobody would recognize him, that nobody would be looking for him in such  _ casual _ clothes so they would gloss over him, looking for the costume instead. He put on his glasses for good measure, people that only knew him on the ice didn’t recognize him with them on a lot, than ran his hand through his hair to try and change how it looked as well.

He couldn’t help himself from stopping at a screen and staring as Victor neared the end of his program, people rushed around the two of them, trying to get to the rink in time before the end, holding plushies or flowers to throw onto the ice. 

“Yuu-”

“30 seconds Celestino.” he said softly, unable to look away.

His coach made a small noise but didn’t say anything and they watched in silence as the routine ended. Yuuri quickly turned and continued walking the second the last note sounded, if he watched him skate off he’d feel the need to go out onto the ice with him for his medal. It truly wasn’t fair.   


Yuuri quickly dug his skates out and handed them to him as Celestino quickly pushed him into a waiting cab “Thank you Caio caio.”

“Call me when you land.” he replied firmly, closing the door.

Yuuri watched his figure as the cab drove off, the man didn’t move until after he lost sight of him.

The cab driver was listening to some radio show, he didn’t understand a word of it and he just continued staring back at the rink. He should be there, standing next to  _ Victor _ . What he’d always wanted.

But Vicchan was more important. He knew it with all his being but it still hurt.

“You...fan of skating yes?” the driver suddenly asked in english.

He jumped slightly, not having expected conversation. “Y-yes.” he had picked him up from the rink of course.

“Want to know final standings?” 

Oh, he was listening to coverage of the skating… “Just Victors, I saw the others.”

“He got..” they paused. “Three three five, seven six.” 

He grinned slightly, “He won.” he replied, not that he’d really doubted it. He was only 30 points below Victor, he could be proud of that.

“Yes. The bronze is missing though.” the driver sounded a bit worried. 

“Ah,” he paused, unsure if telling would make them turn around. “I’m sure he’ll turn up.” He was surprised they’d noticed so quickly, he must’ve just got out in time.

The cab was silent except for the radio, he heard his name a number of times and was glad he was able to get out of there in time, he tried to not visibly appear stressed every time he heard his name.

“Here we go.” the cab pulled up to the airport.

“How muc-” he dug in his pockets for his wallet.

“The man took care of it.” he shooed him, “Don’t miss your flight.” 

He wanted to be mad at Celestino but he couldn’t be. “Okay, thank you!” he scrambled out the door but paused before he closed the door, “ _ I’m _ Yuuri Katsuki by the way.” he closed the door and bolted for the doors of the airport before his driver could say anything in response. 

The driver was put out of his mind as he hurried through the airport, security, and made it onto his plane with just a few minutes to spare. He sighed in relief, sagging into the chair. 

Well, there was no standing on the podium with Victor now. The ceremony was surely long over. It did him no good to dwell on what could’ve been, he had to focus on Vicchan. 

Of course, that only prompted him to feel horrible in a new way, his beloved dog was ill, possibly dying, and he hadn’t seen it in years. 

Once the plane was in the air, he excused himself to the back bathroom and cried for awhile, letting all his pent up emotions out  _ finally _ acknowledging how shitty it was that he wasn’t able to stand on the podium with Victor because his poor dog was  _ dying _ . He didn’t know what to do with himself, so he sat there as long as he needed to before he finally stood, cleaning off his face again, and finally returning to his seat. 

The only way to pass time was to sleep or to read the one book he had in his bag. He eventually just took out a pencil he found in his bag and started writing in the margins of the book, doodling, anything to fill the many hours of flight.

Eventually, he finally felt tired, so he put it all away and leaned back, trying to relax and just let sleep take him.

He didn’t wake up until the wheels touched down and he woke with tears in his eyes, but he couldn’t remember what he was dreaming about. He grabbed his bag and dug out his phone, finally turning it on for the first time since he woke up that morning. He quickly turned the sound to off before it started loading all of his notifications, sending Celestino a text to tell him he’d landed and opening the phone app to call his mom once they were stopped properly. He was in the middle of the plane so he’d have a bit of a wait to be able to actually walk off the plane, might as well talk to his mom.

He put his other hand over his other ear as others started their calls as well.

“Mom, I’m here.”

“Minako is waiting for you outside…” she replied, hard to hear over the din.

“Okay, how’s Vicchan?” he had to know.

“He’s still okay, I’ll see you when Minako brings you home okay?” he heard a crowd of people on her side of the phone and nodded to himself.

“Okay, see you soon.” he shoved his phone into his pocket, ignoring as it vibrated madly at any number of notifications. 

He was finally able to get off the plane, and met Minako at the baggage claim, she was subdued for once, only greeting him with a tired nod as they waited together.

He quickly pulled his off, glad it’d been one of the first ones off, and they headed out to the car.

“I’m sor-”

“Don’t apologize for coming home for your pet.” she cut him off. “I’m just glad you saw it through first.” she finally said.

“I...am too.” he admitted. Vicchan wasn’t dead yet, so he hadn’t missed his passing, and he’d won bronze on the same ice as Victor. 

“You did wonderful Yuuri.” she added. “Bronze, you deserved Silver!” she sighed, “But you did great, better than anyone could’ve expected of you after you got the news. Everyone is so proud of you.”

He nodded slightly, not up to taking compliments for his skating, he just wanted to see his dog.

She was silent again, unlocking and starting the car as he got in and buckled up.

The drive felt much longer than it was. It was silent, not even the radio playing.

His phone continued to go off in his pocket. 

He felt like a failure, he didn’t even know why, but he did. He knew he had no real reason to, his absence didn’t cause Vicchan’s sickness, he won bronze!

Maybe it was because he was home for the first time in four years because his dog was sick and his family deserved better than that.

Yu-topia came into view and he sighed slightly, it still felt good to see his home, no matter the circumstances. 

Minako smiled slightly in the rearview mirror. 

“Your parents insisted on being the ones to take you over, so I’m gonna head home. Chin up, things will be fine.” she said as she parked. “I’ll see you later, take care.” she added as he dragged himself out of the car, grabbing his bags, still in a bit of a haze.

“Thank you for getting me.” he replied.

“Any time.” 

He stared at the doors as the car drove off quietly, trying to build up his courage to just go over and go in. They knew he was here, for sure.

He grabbed his suitcase, dragging it forward with him.

“Yuuri.” his mom pulled the doors open, looking tired, but good still. “It’s good to see you.” 

“I’m home.” he replied, managing a smile at her.

\-----

In no time at all it seemed, they were heading to the vet. 

He tried to take his mind off it by pulling his dying phone out of his pocket, he had so many calls and messages and other alerts, he didn’t know where to start.

Celestino had tried to call him a couple times after he landed but apparently gave up quickly, there were a number of calls from numbers he didn’t recognize and a few from people here in Hatesu. He turned to the texts, Celestino telling him to call when he felt up to talking, he wasn’t going to just let him disappear if he had to buy his own ticket to Japan and could he please respond to Phichit before  _ he _ bought a ticket?

He quickly pulled up skype and saw he had almost 100 messages from Phichit, and a few missed calls. He pushed call without thinking, and after a few seconds Phichit picked up and turned on video, and he did as well out of sheer force of habit for both of them, judging by how Phichit’s face was illuminated by the phone and nothing else. 

“Phi-”

“Yuuri! I was so worried!” he sighed in relief, sagging into the bed he was probably asleep in moments ago. “You won bronze and then you vanished and Ciao ciao wouldn’t tell me anything but then he started looking worried too and Yuuri what’s going on?!” he was clearly fully awake, rubbing at his eyes and sitting up as he talked. 

“Vicchan...is not doing well.” he didn’t want to go into the minimal specifics he did know. 

Phichit’s gasp came through, a bit distorted, “Oh Yuuri...I’m so sorry. So you went home?” he asked.

“Yes, I couldn’t not.” he said softly. “I’m sorry I woke you up.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m much more at ease now than I was, even asleep.” he replied, voice becoming more distorted. “But you’re on the move and Skype’s losing you.” he laughed. “Please, tell me next time you’re going to vanish, I never want to panic like that again. But go on and don’t worry about me right now, okay?”

“Okay, thanks Phichit.”

“Of course Yuuri! Do call before too much longer though.” he added before he hung up.

He looked up from his phone as the car pulled into a parking spot and fumbled with it, shoving it back into his pocket again.  _ Vicchan… _

It took some convincing from his parents to get back to go see him, something about how it was too late, but he didn’t really hear any of the conversation, just trying to figure out where Vicchan was because nothing would stop him, not an army of vets, not Victor holding a gold medal out to him, nothing.

His mom guided him back to the room Vicchan was in, not alone but not crowded with a bunch of other dogs either. A clipboard was on the cage with a bunch of doctor speak he didn’t understand and he was hooked up to an IV but he perked up at his presence and his tail wagged against the metal of the crate. 

“Vicchan!” he sighed in relief, until this moment he hadn’t been able to truly believe his dog was still alive, that everyone hadn’t just been lying to him to help him perform better. 

He barked slightly at him, tail wagging faster. 

He got as close as he could, wiggling his fingers through the bars. “Vicchan, I’m here, please calm down.” he said softly, hoping he wasn’t making anything worse. It was pretty dark, most of the animals were asleep so he couldn’t tell very well how sick Vicchan was. 

Vicchan licked his fingers slightly before putting his head back down and just looking at him, tail still wagging happily.

“I’ll be back to see you tomorrow, okay?” he said softly. “Be good, and get better.” 

“He’s already looking better than he was.” his mom said softly at his side. “I’m sure he’ll pull through.”

He nodded slightly, slowly pulling his hands away. Vicchan whined softly but didn’t get up. “Bright and early.” he added to his beloved dog.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise, the main point of this fic was for cute and hilarious things to happen and we'll get there soon. There's not much angst left.
> 
> Also I'll be trying to get a fic abt episode 11 up sometime today so watch for that.


	3. Social Media brings us all closer together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wait-what happened when he vanished?! 
> 
> There's no way that's right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really have any excuse for not putting this up earlier besides I just didn't want to. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Lots of Phichit in this :)

Vicchan was finally cleared to come home a long, long five days later. They had some medicines to give him but were assured he’d be perfectly fine.

He didn’t even remember the person from the bathroom as he posted a selfie with his dog in the backseat ‘finally coming back home!’ 

He’d ignored his phone since he got home, but once Vicchan was home and he couldn’t obsess over if he’d be fine, he knew he had to face the music. His parents or Mari had warned off visitors from saying any number of things about skating, he was sure there was no good news.

He shot a message off to Phichit, asking for any important or stand-out articles from the week previous, before he started going through his social media and news sites, wondering what had happened after he vanished.

There had been a mild freak out over people thinking he’d been kidnapped or killed for a short time (jealous competition? Fan of who he’d knocked out of third place? The news sites couldn’t agree), but Celestino had quickly put those rumors to rest. Phichit also had a quote in most articles, “I got in a video chat with him that night, he’s perfectly fine.” even then that didn’t seem to have put people at rest since he’d continued to be ‘missing’ for the next 5 days. Oh well, he’d find a way to deal with that. What he really wanted to know was what had happened at the competition, not his ‘kidnapping’. 

In short, the program had stopped for a full  _ hour _ before they finally did the ceremony with only two skaters, and-there were pictures of  _ Victor _ , casting troubled glances at where the bronze medalist would be.

He wasn’t sure if he was actually worried or if it was just for show or if it was even because of him or if it would apply for anyone that didn’t show, but it still sent his heart beating furiously.

Once Phichit woke up, he had several links and then a video call incoming. He picked it up and activated his own camera. “Phichit?”

“I’m sure you’ve seen the kidnapping articles already. Can I record this to prove you’re not kidnapped?” he wasted no time getting to the point of the matter.

He blinked, looking down at himself, half dressed and rumpled. “Give me a couple minutes.” he turned off the video again, changing and running a brush through his hair before he returned and turned it back on. “But how will we prove what day it is?” he knew he was right, he could send as many pictures out as he wanted, but people would still be worried. He felt both touched and irritated, he was  _ fine _ he just needed a bit of privacy.

“Hmmm I got an idea.” he heard Phichit typing quickly and a minute later heard a *ding* of notification from his phone. 

He picked it up absentmindedly, nearly spitting out the sip of water he’d just taken. “Phichit!” 

Phichit laughed loudly, “Well, am I wrong?” 

He groaned, “You don’t even know he’ll actually do it.”

“Sure I do.” he grinned, “He’s worried too~” he hummed.

“He is not! He didn’t even know I existed before that day.” 

“Yuuri, I know you’ve seen the pictures.”

“He could’ve been just doing it  _ for _ the pictures.” as much as he wanted Victor to care about him, he was not naive to the idea of playing up something for the sake of the press.

Phichit shrugged slightly. “Got any better ideas?”

“Than asking Victor to tweet and I quote ‘something absolutely random @Yuuri-k’ ? I suppose not really.” he sighed, “I could read a news article published today.” 

“But this is so much more fun!” he insisted, “At least give him a few more minutes to think up something.”

“Fine,” he leaned back in his chair. “Phichit why did my life come to this?” 

“Dunno. Sure sucks that you had to leave a podium placement with Victor because of your dog and now everyone thinks you’ve been kidnapped.”

“Thanks for summing it up Phichit. You’re my best friend,” he put the right amount of sarcasm into it.

“I’m wounded at the insinuation that I’m  _ not _ your best friend.” Phichit whined, putting a hand to his heart. “ _ Wounded _ .” 

“Sorry, Vicchan is my best friend.” he smiled.

“Ouch, fine, if I had to lose to someone at least its the dog.” Phichit laughed, “I’m gonna start recording now okay?”

He abruptly realized Phichit was going to post this  _ online _ . “Phichit  _ wait! _ ” he called. 

Phichit blinked in complete confusion. “Huh?”

“I…” he paused, unsure how to continue. “Let me take down the posters.” his face was red, he could feel it.

Phichit slowly smirked. “What, are the walls covered in  _ Victor _ like your room out here is? Are they covered in  _ Victor _ who will surely watch this since I’ve asked him to say something random for you?”

He whined, burying his face in his hands. “You are the  _ worst _ .”

“That’s a yes.” Phichit grinned. “Go on, go, make it presentable to the world.”

“Don’t remind me.” he sighed, going around and carefully taking every poster of Victor down and carefully placing them under his sheets, making sure to flatten them out and placing his suitcase on top just to be sure. He looked around the room very slowly, looking for anything else he didn’t want the...world...to see. “I think...we’re good?” 

“Here, show me the full view of the room, I’ll watch.”

“....are you recording?”

“Yuuri, c’mon, you know me.”

“...that’s why I’m asking.” he replied flatly.

“ _ Mortally wounded _ I tell you.” putting a hand to his heart again, “Okay fine, you caught me.”

“Phichit don’t you dare post anything you already recorded! I will block you.” 

“Fine, here watch.” he vanished off his screen and was replaced with Phichit’s own screen. He watched as Phichit navigated to a video file, opened it long enough for him to see the skype call, and dragged it to trash and then cleared the trash. “There we go, all gone.”

Yuuri nodded slightly as Phichit reappeared on the call. “Sorry.”

“Nah, I understand. I had already hit record when you told me to wait is all.” he waved it off. “So show me the room and let’s see if there’s anything that stands out.” 

He nodded, picking up the laptop and holding it pointed away from him, slowly spinning. “Anything?”

“Not that I see. Your room’s plain without all those posters.” he teased as he put it back down. “Can I record  _ now _ ?” 

“Yeah I suppose so.” he sighed, he couldn’t believe he was actually doing this but it was best to get it over with now.

“Say hi to the world Yuuri!” Phichit just had to remind him this was going to go up online.

“H-hello.” he waved slightly, self-conscious.

There was a pause as Phichit seemed to grapple for a conversation topic. “How’s your family?”

“Glad to have me home for a little while.” he replied honestly. “I haven’t been home in four years so…” he shrugged slightly. 

“Staying on top of practice?”

“Ah...I haven’t been but I was going to start tomorrow again-don’t look at me like that I actually mean it!” he defended himself against his friends look.

“Yuuri, it’s been five days, you can’t skip five days!” he admonished.

“I’ve been rushing around a lot?” he offered, “I mean I haven’t been sitting around doing nothing, just not skating.

“I tease, I know you’ve been busy with family stuff.” he was dropping not so subtle hints it was a family issue that sent him home so fast. “I can’t believe you didn’t stay to get your medal.” he pouted at him.

“Phichit!” he objected, “I barely made my flight as it was!” 

“Really? How close was it?” 

“A matter a minutes, there was no way I would’ve been able to do both.” he shook his head.

“That’s a-” he was cut off by both their phones going off, Phichit looked at his first, “Yuuri!” he grinned.

Yuuri had a feeling he knew what that was, he grabbed his phone and groaned at the twitter notification from Victor.

Phichit laughed at his mild distress. “C’mon, just read the tweet.” he wheedled.

“I can’t  _ believe _ he actually did it.” he replied, still staring at his phone. “I can’t believe he actually  _ listened  _ to you Phichit.” 

“I worked my magic is all.” he grinned. “C’mon read Victor’s tweet already.” 

He took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and then closed it. “It’s multiple tweets actually Phichit.” he pointed out, trying to get out of it.

“Read all of ‘em.” he gestured.

“At @Phichit-c’s request, I admit I was at a bit of a loss, but I decided it’d be best to try and channel @drill himself for the true randomness he was wanting, so... You can drag me from the ice when I become  _ one  _ with the ice, I’m 70% there! Now I just need to be a ‘chill’ 30 degrees and I will stare Yakov in the eye as I fall backwards into frozen hell. @Yuuri-k I love your dog, what’s it’s name?! Reminds me of the best dog in the world, @Makkachin, speaking of which.” Yuuri took a moment to take a sip of water and send Phichit a long suffering look. “Thank you, whoever you are that finds every picture of Makkachin in the world and reposts it here on twitter. Also, @Yuuri-k, I managed to convince them to give me your bronze medal to hang onto for you-” he tore his eyes from his phone. “Did they really?!” he demanded at Phichit.

Phichit shrugged, “I haven’t seen anything about it in any articles but I wasn’t there, you could ask Ciao ciao, he might know.”

He turned back to twitter. “For you, so DM me soon, #Followed.” he finished. “That was so long.” 

“Covered every base he could think of. Bad puns, going off on tangents, mentioning something you couldn’t possibly know, thanks Victor!” Phichit grinned.

Yuuri heard a bark and then his door slid open just enough to let the dog into the room, who immediately jumped up onto his lap. “Vicchan!” he laughed slightly, pulling the dog more carefully into position. “Calm down.”

Phichit laughed loudly, tears leaking from his eyes. “Oh, oh that’s just priceless. Someone, please, draw this. Please I beg you.”

“Phichit!” he objected, face red and he held Vicchan up to hide from the camera.

“No this, draw this instead!” Phichit piped up. 

Vicchan yipped at him, licking the camera.

“Vicchan.” he groaned softly, trying to wipe at it with his sleeve. 

“Awww Vicchan I wanna love you too!” Phichit cooed. “That settles it, I’m gonna visit you sometime soon so I can cuddle him.” 

“Phichit!” he blushed. “You can’t spend that money!”

“I may be a poor college student, but I’m a  _ determined  _ one.” he grinned. “I’m going to meet that puppy.” 

“He’s not a p-”

“All dogs are puppies you know this.” 

He sighed, “Please, hold off on booking a ticket.” 

“If you insist.” 

“I feel like half my words are just groaning your name.” he muttered.

Phichit laughed, “You should be used to it, you’ve been my roommate for four years.”

He ignored him in favor of playing with Vicchan.

“I see how it is, the dog is a better best friend than me.” he fake sniffled.

“Phichit, we already went over this, he is.” he pulled him to his chest.

“I know,” he grinned, “Are you gonna get back out here soon?” he asked.

“Yeah, I need to talk to Celestino soon.” he did still have skating to do after all. “I’ll talk to you again soon Phichit, I’m gonna relax in the hot springs.” 

“Okay, it’s getting late there isn’t it? Goodnight.” Phichit waved slightly.

“Yeah, and I’ll be up bright and early to start training again.” he couldn’t help but tease.

“Okay, okay, sorry I joked about that.” he laughed, clearly remembering the first time the phrase ‘bright and early’ was used, when he signed himself up to train with Yuuri and was not prepared for the dawn wakeup call.

“Night Phichit.” he replied.

Phichit nodded, and ended the call.

He sagged into the chair immediately, hoping he didn’t appear  _ too _ tense on camera.

He put Vicchan down and headed out to the hot springs, he was sure by the time he got back Phichit would have the video up.

A check of his phone when he came back in showed that yes indeed, Victor had followed him. He hesitated over the messaging icon, he probably wasn’t being serious, just throwing something random out there. 

He did have more twitter notifications, Phichit with the video and then a very enthused Victor happily chatting away at both at them, he’d apparently missed a decent length of a twitter conversation, about himself. And his dog, of course.

He decided to just, hop in, before he questioned it. “I’m sorry but I have to disagree, Vicchan is much cuter than Makkachin.”

Victor immediately responded, “HOW DARE this is #war someone start a twitter poll.” 

Yuuri snickered, and dug through his phone until he found the picture of Vicchan at his cutest, when both of them were still pretty young, and threw it up on twitter, directing it to Victor.

“MY HEART. How can I possibly one-up that? @Makkachin help me! We must defend Makkachin’s honor!” 

Yuuri quickly hopped onto his laptop and onto a different browser, logging into the secondary account he shared with Yuuko, scrolling for the best picture of Makkachin he could find. 

Yuuko apparently was doing the same thing because they both tweeted different pictures of Makkachin to Victor.

“Two? What is this?” Victor seemed amused.

“Oh no, the secret is out, there’s two admins for @Makkachin.” Yuuko tweeted out.

“I have been lied to, I have been bamboozled and shamed, there are two admins for the @Makkachin account.” the war was apparently forgotten in the face of this revelation. 

Yuuri couldn’t resist, using the Makkachin account to proclaim. “Sorry, but Vicchan is cuter.” 

“The @Makkachin account has BETRAYED me. Which one of you admins was it? Meet me in the pit! #Fightme” and then a moment later “I must admit, that picture of Vicchan is really just too cute, I must concede to @Yuuri-k. Post more pictures of that adorable dog! Makkachin is still the best dog!” 

“Given that Vicchan has chewed through about 6 pairs of headphones, I might have to give you that one @Victor-n.”

Victor replied by tweeting out a younger Makkachin with the remains of a costume at his feet. “I couldn’t even stay mad.”

Yuuri dug through his phone until he found the picture he wanted, throwing it up as well. “Look at this. How was I supposed to be mad?” a pair of glasses laid at the dogs feet, glass intact but ruined besides that, looking up at the camera with the saddest expression, looking like he was going to cry. “I needed a new pair anyway.”

“I bet Vicchan is the most spoiled dog in the whole world with that look.”

It abruptly occurred to him that this was his  _ idol _ he was talking to, and he clammed up, anxiety spiking and throwing his phone away and closing twitter on the computer as well.

Was he really just chatting with Victor Nikiforov like it was nothing? Did that just happen? 

He grabbed his bag with his skates, and rushed out the door towards the ice castle as his anxiety churned in his gut. 

“Yuuri!” Yuuko greeted him at the door, waving her hand with her phone in it. “I can’t believe Victor knows that account exists and enjoys it!” she grinned broadly at him.

“Wua…” he stared at her, how had she known?

“Yuuri, I knew it’d hit you you were talking to Victor and you’d come here to practice.” she laughed, “I know you well enough. We spoiled the illusion though, they all know there’s two of us now.” 

“They were going to find out eventually. Am I really that predictable?” he frowned.

“C’mon Yuuri, would you like me to skate with you?” she asked, tilting her head.

He blinked, startled at the offer. It had been so long since he skated with Yuuko, and he found himself nodding slightly.

She grinned at them and pulled him into the building and back to the locker rooms to change shoes with him.

“I can’t believe he loves Vicchan so much.” she was gushing as she laced up. “That picture you posted though, just the  _ cutest _ both of you, wonder if he gave in because of how cute you were together.” she grinned, nudging him in the side.

“Y-Yu-chan!” he objected, face burning. “All kids are cute…” he tried to argue.

“Most kids are cute, but you are  _ still _ cute Yuuri!” she stood up with a grin. “Besides he said he’s holding onto your bronze medal he wants to see you or something!”

He shook his head, “I doubt he actually has it, I haven’t asked Celestino what happened with me going missing yet.” 

“But what if he does? What if he argued to hold onto it for you so he could congratulate you in person?” 

“Yu-chan, you’re making a big deal out of something small.” he shook his head wistfully. “I mean, he knows I exist now, but to that degree? No way.”

“Oh come on, indulge in the fantasy just a little bit!” she pulled him up to his feet. “You know you’d love it.”

He would probably implode if Victor did have his medal for the express purpose of being able to give it to him person. He held that comment to himself as they went off onto the ice and skated lazy laps around to warm up. 

“I’m sure you’ve heard this from everyone by now Yuuri, but I’m so proud of you. You did better than anyone could’ve imagined with everything going on.” 

Yuuri looked down at the ice. “Thank you Yu-chan, I think...I still haven’t really processed that that actually happened. I was too worried about Vicchan to think about things like that...I mean I was upset when I realized...I wasn’t going to be there, to stand on the same ice as him at the same time, but, it still hasn’t really sunk in that it actually happened.” 

“Because it hasn’t?” she offered, “The points say it did but you didn’t experience that, so you’re finding it hard to believe.” she skated over and grabbed his hands gently. “Yuuri, you have the talent for it, I know you find it hard to believe, but you wouldn’t have been there at all if you didn’t.” 

He nodded slightly, unable to refute that. “It doesn’t feel real…” he said softly. It felt like he would wake up late to skate his short program or something, even if it had been a week since it actually happened. 

“You’ll get through to it eventually.” she grinned, pulling him along as she skated backwards. “C’mon, I wanna do that middle section of ‘Stand by me’ with you.” she tempted him, “You know the part.”

He laughed, gently pulling his hands from hers. He did know exactly what she was talking about, and he let himself get lost in the simple joy of skating one of Victor’s routines with one of his best friends. 

\-----

He didn’t return home until the sun was coming up, and collapsed into his bed after saying hi to his parents on his way in. He felt guilty for keeping Yuuko up all night, but it’d been awhile since he had so much fun skating. It’d been so long since he skated without crowds of people watching him.

Vicchan joined him shortly, curling up next to his chest and he smiled, pulling the dog a little bit closer as he drifted off. He’d missed this, skating with Yuuko, Vicchan, even Yu-topia. He probably should’ve visited before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hear me out, I don't think it's that much of a stretch that people would panic, someone on twitter or something would be like 'what if someone killed him for stealing third lol' and then it'd blow up.
> 
> Phichit's laughing cause he said Victor and Vicchan came running, for the record.
> 
> Also if I change the timeline in later chapters it's because I didn't realize Japanese nationals were two weeks after the gpf so I might change the timeline to better fit or just say nationals happen later undecided.


	4. Where in the world is Yuuri's Medal?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that he's faced the world its time to get back to business...or at least think about it. First, Celestino, does Victor really have his medal or was it a lie for twitter?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! With an update schedule that's spaced out enough I won't burn myself out trying to meet it!

“Mom, how much do I owe you for the ticket?” he finally asked, worried but needing to know all the same.

She smiled at him, “Don’t worry about it.”

“Mom! I can’t not pay you back for it, you’re already paying for Vicchan’s time at the vet.” he shook his head, “I  _ have _ to pay you back.”

“Yuuri, seeing you win bronze was good enough for me, but don’t worry, we got an anonymous tip that more than covered it ‘for the man with the dog,’ so there’s nothing to worry about.”

He froze, remembering that day in the bathroom and burying his face. They had actually done it? Paid back his plane ticket? And then some? He’d completely forgotten it, so wrapped up in Vicchan and then the world thinking, still, that he’d been kidnapped.

“What are you going to do honey? You need to get back to training for the next competition right?” she prompted. “You can’t let the momentum from your win go.” 

He sighed, “I don’t know...I’m worried to leave Vicchan.” he admitted out loud.

She looked him over, “How about you call your coach finally, and finish the season before you make any other decisions okay? Vicchan will be fine, it’s nothing that’s going to come back and even if it does we’ll be taking care of him.” 

Fiddling with his phone in his pocket, he returned to his room, knowing he should at least call Celestino. So, dog in lap, he finally did so.

“Yuuri! You finally called.” he heard him sigh. “I know Phichit said he’d been talking to you but I was still worried.”

“I’m sorry.” he said, running a hand through the fur. “I didn’t mean-”

“No, no don’t worry, I know you were busy. I’m sorry I didn’t manage to completely get rid of the kidnapping rumors before you were ready to face the world.” 

“You did your best Celestino.” he shook his head. “At least it’s pretty much over now.”

“It’ll be over for good when you get back here and people see that you’re truly fine.” he could almost see the man smiling at him. “I still have my notes from the competition.” he added.

“Celestino…” he trailed off, unsure what to say.

“Don’t you dare say you’re not coming back,” his voice got rough. “I understand it’s scary to go through that, but you can’t give up, you worked hard to get to this point and I’m not letting you throw it away. I doubt your parents would want that either.”

“They don’t.” he admitted, tracing figures in the sheets. “I just...worry.”

“I’m sure we could schedule time to go back to Japan and see your dog.” he offered.

“Mmmm.” he didn’t comment. “Does Victor really have my medal?” he hoped Celestino didn’t notice the crack on his name.

He laughed slightly, “Yes, he does. He argued long and hard with me and any number of officials. His coach looked ready to set him on fire.”

“What?!” he gasped, pulling the phone away from his face and staring at it in shock for a moment. “He really has it? He argued with people so he could have it? Why?!”

“I can’t tell you that, you have to ask him himself, he was very clear about that.”

He made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. “Celestino! Why?”

“Well, after you missed your chance to stand on the ice with him, I figured you’d be happy to have an excuse to talk to him.” he had that teasing note in his voice, like so many other people when it came to Victor. 

Groaning, he pulled Vicchan up to his face and burried his face in his dog. “Ciao ciao!” he whined.

“Yuuri, you’re allowed to talk to him.” he could almost see the sparkle in his eye. “You’ve looked up to him forever, now it’s time to know him.” 

“I can’t believe he has my medal.” he mumbled again, “Fine, fine, I’ll get in contact with V-Victor. And...I’ll get back to you about coming back.”

“Don’t wait much longer, there is a time limit you know.” he said before he hung up.

He sighed, dropping his phone on the bed and picking Vicchan up to look at his face. “Can you believe this Vicchan?” 

Vicchan softly bit his nose.

He laughed, putting him back in his lap. “I suppose I’m not dreaming after all.” 

He sighed and grabbed his phone, might as well talk to Victor now rather than later. He scrolled quickly to Victor and with determination pressed the direct message icon. Then froze, what on earth was he supposed to say? “My coach just told me you really did have my medal and I don’t know what to do about this?” 

Firmly, he typed out the message before he could spook himself into not saying anything again.

He then turned his phone to silent and put it on the bed two feet from him and turned his full attention to his dog.

After 15 minutes he couldn’t resist reaching over and checking his phone, face on fire and sure he sounded like an idiot.

“Yep sure do!” attached was a picture of Victor posing with both his own gold and Yuuri’s bronze, with his dog laid out on the bed behind him.

He blushed brightly. “What were you planning to do with it? He said you were very insistent on having it.”

“I’m not planning on doing anything with it :(“

“I didn’t mean it like that!” he panicked, sending it before he even thought it through.

“I know, I know, I just wanted an excuse to get you to talk to me after you walked off like that :( and now that I’ve seen your cute dog now I really want to come see both of you! :)” 

“What-come to Japan?!” 

“If that’s where Vicchan is~” 

“Victor you can’t just come to Japan you have skating to do!” 

“Didn’t stop you.” he pointed out, then quickly followed up, “Sorry, I know it was a family emergency.” also quickly followed by, “But you should really get back to your coach! It’s over now if you’re chatting easily with Phichit, right?”

Now  _ Victor _ was getting on him to get back to skating? “Why do you care so much?” that was rude, “I mean, I’m just another competitor.”

“If you can skate that well with an emergency going on, you stand a good chance of beating me, it’s been awhile without a shakeup at the top.” a pause and then, “Plus, I want to actually stand on the podium with you!”

“Beating you? No way!” he shook his head, “I got lucky is all.” he paused, “Thank you though.”

“Its decided, I’m not giving you this until I see you on another podium.” Victor said.

“And what if I try and fail?”

“You won’t.”

“But if I do you’ll just hold it hostage?”

“Point taken, it is yours after all. Just show up and do your best and you’ll get it.”

Neither of them said anything for a little while.

“Victor…” he wasn’t sure where he was leading with this.

“Yes?” came the quick reply.

“Throw in a selfie with you and Makkachin and we have a deal.” he couldn’t believe he just sent that to Victor.

“You drive a hard bargain.” he was sure he was being teased. “Include your adorable Vicchan and I’ll throw in some skating tips.” “Personalized.” was added at his hesitation.

“Deal.” he finally said.

“Great! Can’t wait to see you again! I better hear about you getting back out there soon!” “It’s a date!” 

The phone fell from his hand.  _ A date?! _

There was no way he just had that conversation, no way. He picked up his phone and it was all still there, including the smiling picture of Victor with both of their medals.

Just for him.

He laid back down on the bed, petting Vicchan nervously, mind still spinning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be back in two weeks (something else is updating next week) with the next chapter which will take us through the rest of the skating season and finally, finally, we'll have the dogs together at last. Hope they play nice...
> 
> Thanks so much for the comments, please keep them coming to keep me motivated :)


	5. Vicchan at Nationals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for Japanese nationals and a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops sorry I'm a day late, but here's the next chapter.

Celestino had thought ahead, more than him anyway, and so that was how he found himself practicing at the ice palace while Yuuko held a phone with Skype open towards him so Celestino could watch. He was going to be there in another couple of days anyway for nationals, and he’d sent his skates ahead awhile back, so they could continue remotely. 

It felt like no time passed before Celestino was there, with Phichit at the airport. Phichit wasted no time pulling all three of them close to post a selfie. ‘Almost ready for nationals!’ Victor replied with a ‘!!!!’ between his own training.

It felt like he barely managed a breath before nationals were there, and somewhere out in the world was Victor, watching, waiting for him to place on the podium. His breath caught in his throat at the thought, Victor...watching  _ him _ ?

He burried his face in Vicchan’s fur, trying not to focus on Victor.

“Yuuri, you can do this! Don’t think about Victor, think about Vicchan! Cheering you on!” Phichit grinned, rubbing his back. “You never let the idea of Victor psych you out before, so don’t let it happen now!” he pulled Vicchan carefully out of his arms and held the tiny poodle up. “You can do it papa!” he chirped, bouncing Vicchan in the air. “Do it for me! How can you say no to my cute face?” Phichit whined, hiding behind Vicchan before he pulled the pup down more securely. “You heard him!” 

Yuuri laughed, unable to help it, bending over the boards. “You’re the worst Phichit!” he objected between laughs.

Phichit winked at him, “You love me really, but I see why you love this cutie more.” he nuzzled his nose against Vicchan’s. “So cute!” he chirped. 

Vicchan barked, tail wagging, and nipped his nose.

“Ouch!” Phichit pouted at the poodle, which then licked his face.

Yuuri just laughed harder, tears beginning to leak from his eyes.

This was what Celestino came over to, one of his skaters holding a dog in front of his face, and the other crying with laughter. He sighed, more surprised it wasn’t the other way around. “Yuuri,” he started, “Don’t die.” he added after a moment of silence.

Unfortantly this only made him laugh even harder, nearly falling to the floor.

“Papa no! Hold it together!” Phichit chirped, spinning Vicchan around. 

Yuuri took one look up at Phichit and continued laughing but was finally starting to get a hold of himself as he gulped down about half of his water bottle, before pushing himself back up onto his feet.

Phichit grinned and held out Vicchan, who licked his face too. He smiled and pet his poodle before he took a deep breath to try and refocus himself on the task at hand.

“You’ve got this Yuuri,” Celestino offered with a smile. “You’ve only been getting better and you’ve been winning here for years.”

\-----

And of course, Celestino was right. He got gold by a pretty wide margin, and second went to Minami Kenjiro, a kid that reminded him of something...but he couldn’t but his finger on it. He avoided twitter, not wanting to see one way or another if Victor had anything to say.

Or at least he tried to, but before long he couldn’t resist the pull of his phone any longer.

‘Congrats to @Yuuri_k! Well deserved gold.’ with about a dozen emojis following.

Such a small thing shouldn’t make him so happy, but here he was, face burning.

“Yuuri! Can we go to your hot springs now, please?” Phichit threw open the door and then blinked. “Yuuri?”

“Nothing!” he said quickly, shoving his phone in his pocket. “I don’t know, when are the return tickets?”

Phichit frowned, squinting at him before he grinned. “Oh, you checked twitter. Come on, let’s go ask Celestino.” he grabbed his hand and dragged him off.

\-----

Yuuri frowned at the tiny cage. It would be selfish. Way to selfish, to take Vicchan with him back to the states, and then onto the competitions… he needed to leave him here, in Japan, the only place he knew.

The thought closed his throat up with anxiety, and he coughed to clear his airway to breathe again. Vicchan would be fine here, he’d been fine for five years.

 

Until he hadn’t been.

 

He couldn’t leave him behind again. But he couldn’t drag Vicchan around the world with him when he’d have so little time to spend with him. That was too selfish, to put Vicchan through all that stress.

He shoved the cage away. He wouldn’t put Vicchan in there, he’d leave him here.

_ Yip! _ Vicchan scrambled into the room and up into his lap, wiggling happily and looking up at him, licking anywhere he could reach.

His throat closed up again, and he pulled him up to his chest and pet him. He had to think about what was best for Vicchan...he couldn’t just...take him with him because of his anxieties.

Vicchan whined softly, licking his face.

Oh...he was crying. He wiped at his eyes quickly, “It’s fine Vicchan.” he said quickly, going back to petting him. “It’ll be fine, you’ll stay here with mom and everyone, and it’ll all be fine…”

“Take him.”

He jumped, nearly dropping Vicchan as he looked over and saw his sister in the door. “I can’t, that’s not fair to him.”

“He’ll be happier with you, he’s missed you terribly, and you’ll feel better with him there.” she replied.

“But I can’t put him through travel, and everything else, just for my feelings…” he objected, looking down at Vicchan, who curled up on his lap.

“He’s never minded cars, planes won’t be that much different. Everyone in Detriot will fall over themselves to help you take care of him. Just take him.”

“But…” he didn’t look away from Vicchan. 

“Yuuri.” she moved more fully into the room and squatted down to pet him. “Nothing would make him happier than to be with you.”

“I…” he glanced over at the cage and nudged Vicchan to stand.

Vicchan spun in a circle and looked around.

Yuuri nudged him towards the cage. “In.”

Vicchan looked up at him and tilted his head, taking a step towards the cage.

“Keep going.” he urged.

Vicchan continued forward and eventualy went in and curled up, looking out at him.

“...I suppose he doesn’t mind it then…” Yuuri sighed deeply. “Okay, you’re coming with me boy.” he smiled a bit and Vicchan burst out and rubbed against him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was going to be longer but I ended up having to do a lot of rewriting.


End file.
